The St. Bernard Project, etc.

The blog is finally back! My apologies for the super long time between posts, but I've been busy and just have not found myself inspired to write, but here goes nothing. After two weeks of training to understand both why and how we do what we do with the St. Bernard Project, I am now in my second week as a site supervisor, leading groups of volunteers in rebuilding the interior of Katrina-damaged homes. It may seem ridiculous that 5 years after the hurricane, there are still people not back in their homes. It is. And it is not just a few. The St. Bernard Project has rebuilt 315 homes in the Saint Bernard Parish, is currently working on almost 50 more, and still has almost 2o0 families on the waiting list, awaiting funds from grant money or private donations as well as volunteer groups to help with the work. If you are looking for a mission trip, consider the St. Bernard Project. The house that I have spent the last two weeks working on belongs to Mr. Leroy Jarvis. Leroy didn't plan on leaving during Hurricane Katrina, but one day one of his friends came to his house, packed up all his stuff, and told him that they were leaving, which probably saved his life. His home was destroyed down to the foundation. After living with friends in Texas, Leroy received a call informing him that there was a FEMA trailer waiting for him. Upon arriving back in New Orleans, he found that there was no such trailer. Luckily, friends took Leroy in while he was able to get some money together and purchase the trailer that we are currently working on making into his new home. Leroy is one of a ton of people who have had several setbacks since the storm that were largely out of their own control. Since we arrived here, we have seen 5 Welcome Home Parties, with families moving back into their finished homes. There is nothing more rewarding. It makes the long days and weeks of hanging drywall, mudding, sanding, priming, painting, flooring, etc. well worth it. And I am developing some pretty great life skills that may come in handy should I ever decide to purchase a fixer upper. Now for the bullet points of the really interesting information:

• I am getting ripped. Maybe not, but I have really begun to enjoy the physical training and am definitely improving my physical fitness level.
• I saw a girl get arrested on Bourbon Street for running underneath the horse of a mounted policeman. Probably my favorite non-work-related incident so far.
• You can check "ride a mechanical bull" and "eat alligator" off my bucket list. My bull riding performance was decent at best. The alligator was delicious.
• For the opening day of the NFL season (Saints game), NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Hall of Famers Tim Brown, Thurman Thomas, and Marcus Allen worked with SBP. They actually worked on the same house that I had been working on for the majority of the week. Together, we welcomed a family home and at part of a 50 foot po boy.
• It has recently come to my attention that the Alanis Morissette song "You Oughta Know" was written about Dave Coullier aka "Uncle Joey." This only makes me love the song even more.
• My awesome sister sent me a collection of notes from my Auburn Presbyterian Student Fellowship crew yesterday. It reminded me how lucky I was and am to have such a great group of friends and to have been surrounded by such funny people. It was a great mixture of laughter and sentiment from some of the people that were with me through my most formative years.
• Louisiana seafood is safe to eat. If it makes it to your grocery store, it has been through so many tests that you can guarantee it will be fine. I have had plenty of seafood in the form of gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp and grits, etc. and can guarantee that it is fine and tastes delicious when properly prepared.
• We have 2 1/2 weeks left in Chalmette/New Orleans. We should find out where our next project will be in a few days. On October 15th, we head back to Vicksburg for 10 days of transition.
• War Damn Eagle, 4-0 and #10. I have gotten to see most, if not all, of each game and though a decent amount of luck has been involved, all the pieces are there for this to be a really good team.
• I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean. Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens. I hope you take the time to give faith a fighting chance. And if you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.